Thumbs Down To Utility Workers Who Spray-Painted Hartford's Famous Rock Sculpture

Two big thumbs down to the workers who sprayed paint on one of downtown Hartford's most distinctive outdoor sculptures.

Workers marking utility lines last week spray-painted in orange and red the bases of 16 of the 36 glacial rocks that make up Carl Andre's "Stone Field Sculpture," which sits on a triangular piece of land on the north side of Gold Street. Though it was very controversial when it was created in 1977, most residents and visitors have come to accept the array of boulders, perhaps as an artistic interpretation of New England geology.

In any event, most folks — even teenagers — have been able to tell it is something they should not deface with spray paint. Fortunately, Eversource, the utility company, and the city are getting the sculpture cleaned pronto. Don't knock the rocks.